Briggs was born on February 27, 1877, in
Ypsilanti, Michigan, to Rodney D. Briggs and Ada Warner. He followed the Detroit Tigers from the time he was young. In his early youth he worked at the
Michigan Central Railroad and later opened
Briggs Manufacturing Company in 1908, which specialized in the
manufacturing of automobile bodies for the auto industry and later diversified into
plumbing fixtures. After the death of Tigers' part-owner
Bill Yawkey in 1919, surviving partner
Frank Navin arranged for Briggs and industrialist John Kelsey to buy a 25 percent stake in the club. Briggs had long chafed at not being able to see the Tigers play the
Chicago Cubs in the
1908 World Series; he saw his stake in the Tigers as a way to ensure he would never have to worry about getting a seat to a game again. In 1927, Briggs bought Kelsey's stake to become a full partner with Navin, though he stayed in the background while Navin was alive. After Navin died in 1935, Briggs became the sole owner of the franchise. , Alpheus W. Chittenden and Charles D. Kotting, architects As owner, among Briggs' first actions was completing major renovation and expansion plans to Navin Field, then seating 23,000. He double-decked the grandstand and converted the park into a bowl. It reopened in 1938 as Briggs Stadium, with a
seating capacity of 58,000. The stadium was later renamed
Tiger Stadium. Briggs was noted for fielding a well-paid team that won two
American League pennants (1940, 1945) and a
World Series championship in 1945 under his ownership. He had a reputation for being prejudiced against
African Americans, in part because he refused to sign black players and would only allow black fans to sit in inferior obstructed-view sections at Briggs Stadium. While he employed blacks at his factory, they were subjected to pervasive discrimination and less-than-ideal working conditions. Briggs died at age 74 in
Miami Beach, Florida, on January 17, 1952. He was interred at
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan. ==Legacy==